“President [Vladimir] Putin called this morning to very nicely wish me a Happy Birthday, but to more importantly, talk about Iran, a country he knows very well,” said President Donald Trump in a Saturday Truth Social post ahead of the Army anniversary parade.
Israel – an ally of the U.S. – conducted strikes of nuclear sites at Iran this week and Iran has fired missiles back at Israel. These moves are the latest ramp-up of tensions in the Middle East. Tensions began growing significantly following an October 2023 terrorist attack on Israel by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, which resulted in Israel declaring a war that has been raging near the Gaza strip.
“We talked at length,” said Trump of his discussion with Putin, who launched his own attack against neighboring Ukraine in 2022. “Much less time was spent talking about Russia/Ukraine, but that will be for next week. He is doing the planned prisoner swaps - large numbers of prisoners are being exchanged, immediately, from both sides. The call lasted approximately 1 hour. He feels, as do I, this war in Israel-Iran should end, to which I explained, his war should also end.”
The U.S. Army parade made its way through the streets of Washington D.C. Saturday following that call. It was arranged to mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. The day’s festivities kicked off with an Army fitness competition at around 9:30 a.m.
Later that afternoon, the United States Army Band started off the parade, which also featured Army units, a parachuting team and more. Video shared by Trump showed large crowds gathered for the parade.
“OUR GREAT MILITARY PARADE IS ON, RAIN OR SHINE. REMEMBER, A RAINY DAY PARADE BRINGS GOOD LUCK. I’LL SEE YOU ALL IN D.C.,” said the president in a Truth Social post ahead f the parade.
You can watch the parade HERE:
As the Army anniversary celebrations were held in D.C., “No Kings” protests against the Trump administration were held across the U.S. Additionally, a fatal shooting of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband made headlines on Saturday.